News

A new class of emerging farmer working the land on municipal commonages have similarities to the ‘kulaks’, the highly productive, early 20th century entrepreneurial Russian farmers drawn from the peasantry. Researchers Doreen Atkinson and Mark Ingle explore this phenomenon and its implications for land reform.

Here is the story of a family who faced daunting difficulties yet refused to flee from them. Instead, they set to work building a successful business and living fulfilled lives. What made the difference was their attitude. We need to emulate it.

There comes a time in the family entertainment schedule when a bowl of peanuts or processed, oil-enhanced, orange-dyed maize by-products just don’t come up to scratch. In the first episode of a forthcoming series, I will introduce you to the concept of ‘advanced nibbles’.

Honeybees are the world’s best-known pollinators of natural flora and a vast array of food and fibre crops. Yet they are frequently harmed by human activities, writes CropLife South Africa’s operations and stewardship manager, Dr Gerhard Verdoorn.

Africa’s agricultural potential can only be realised if smallholders gain access to finance. But loans cannot be focused on just one aspect of the value chain at the expense of others. Antois van der Westhuizen, managing director of John Deere Financial, suggests ways to design integrated financing models for smallholders.

Although land and land reform played a lesser role than expected in the recent election, these matters needed to be resolved urgently, according to Theo Venter, a political analyst from North-West University.

Many farmers are highly knowledgeable about growing grain or running livestock. But relatively few hold even basic skills in financial literacy. Are you one of them?

These easy pepperminty vanilla panna cottas are a perfect dessert for your next gathering or holiday party. Your guests will love them.

In Latin America, warm salads offer grilled meats their proper accompaniment. Give this calamari and chilli salsa your best shot!

There is a large shortfall between the amount of food being produced in the world today and the quantity needed to feed an expected 10 billion people by 2050. A World Resources Institute report suggests it is possible to produce enough food sustainably to cater for the rapid increase in demand, but achieving this will require major changes to the way we grow and consume food.

Business managers require skills in four key areas: production, marketing, human resources, and finance. The last of these is a challenge for many South African farmers; if you’re one of them, it’s time to upgrade your financial literacy.

My brother recently returned from a business trip to France, where he had what he called the ‘best chicken meal’ of his life. This recipe, reconstructed from memory, is the happy outcome.

The ‘Global Warming of 1.5˚C’ report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlights several climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1,5˚C, compared with 2˚C or more. For example, at 1,5˚C warming, the Arctic Ocean is likely to be free of sea ice in summer just once a century on average, whereas at 2°C global warming, the likelihood rises to once a decade.

It’s quick and easy to demotivate someone. In contrast, it takes time and effort to build motivation. If you have demotivated employees, first look in the mirror.

Everyone has his or her favourite samoosa filling. For this case hardened foodie hack, a potato samoosa is the food of any numberof gods. The filling, called aloo (potato in Hindi), is just one of the outstanding potato curries thatKwaZulu-Natal and the Indian subcontinent have to offer.

As irrigation schemes are found mostly in areas with high poverty levels, smallholder irrigation presents major opportunities for reducing rural poverty. However, smallholder irrigation is performing below expectations. A new study explores the reasons for this.

Don’t be caught napping by changes in dietary trends. They could hit your profits hard. The data is there; analyse it and adapt your product range accordingly.

Research by the International Food Policy Research Institute and the International Institute for Sustainable Development analysed progress in agricultural development in 117 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to understand which policies have succeeded or failed. It then provided policy guidelines to help countries still at the subsidence farming stage to transform their agriculture sectors.

Dr René Uys, director of Thinking Fusion AFRICA, argues that young South African farmers need to have the emotional fortitude to face up to the often harsh realities of agriculture in this country. In short, they have to be both skilled and brave, which is why self-development is crucial.

Disruptive change is coming to supermarkets and this will have a ripple effect throughout the food industry supply chain. According to Bjorn Thumas, director of business development at TOMRA Food, technical innovations online and in-store, combined with shifting consumer demands, will reshape the supermarket of the future.